Act of Parliament · As enacted
Trusts (Amendment) Act 2018
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Trusts (Amendment)
Act, No. 6 of 2018.
s 2Amendment of section 3 of Chapter 87
Section 3 of the Trusts Ordinance (Chapter 87)
(hereinafter referred to as the “principal enactment”) is hereby amended as follows:—
by the repeal of paragraph (e) of that section and the substitution therefor, of the following paragraph:—
“(e) “beneficiary” means a person, or a defined or definitely ascertainable class of persons, for whose benefit the confidence is accepted;”;
by the addition immediately after paragraph (o) of that section, of the following paragraphs:—
“(p) “express trust” means a trust that is created by the author of the trust generally in the form of an instrument in writing with certainty indicating the intention of the trust, but does not include a constructive trust or a de facto trust, whether charitable or not;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act.”.
s 3Insertion of new sections 6A and 6B in the principal enactment
The following new sections are hereby inserted immediately after section 6 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as sections 6A and 6B of that enactment:-
6A. (1) The Registrar-General shall prepare and maintain a register containing such information as may be prescribed in respect of every express trust created in compliance with section 5.
The trustee of any immovable or movable property in respect of an express trust, shall forward to the Registrar-General for the purpose of subsection (1), all such information relating to the trust, as may be prescribed.
6B. (1) The Registrar-General shall, on a request made by the Financial Intelligence
Unit, or by any other authority with the written sanction of the Financial Intelligence Unit, provide to the Financial Intelligence Unit or such other authority any information relating to any express trust, kept in the register maintained under section 6A.
For the purpose of subsection (1), the
Financial Intelligence Unit shall be the
Financial Intelligence Unit that may be designated under the Financial Transactions
Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006.”.
s 4Insertion of new sections 19A,19B and 19C in the principal enactment
The following new sections are hereby inserted immediately after section 19 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as sections 19A, 19B and 19C of that enactment:—
Duty of the
Registrar-General to provide information of trusts.
“Registrar-General to maintain a register of trusts.
19A.
“Trustee to
A trustee shall keep records of all such information as may be prescribed, on the identity of the following persons at the time of creation of an express trust under section 6:—
information record.
the trustee himself;
the co-trustees, if any;
the author of the trust;
the beneficiary, to the greatest extent possible; and
any other person engaged in the execution of the trust in the capacity of an agent, a legal representative, a manager, an investment advisor or a tax advisor, an accountant or otherwise.
The information under subsection (1)
shall be verified and updated every three months, to the greatest extent possible.
Where an express trust has been created for the benefit of a class of persons, all such information as may be prescribed, on the identity of every person belonging to such class of persons, to the greatest extent possible, shall be kept in record under subsection (1).
Where an express trust has been created for the benefit of a person other than a natural person, the information on the identity of the natural person who is the beneficial owner of the trust, shall be kept in record under subsection (1).
keep updated on identity in
A trustee shall maintain records of information of any person referred to in subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4), at least for a period of six years from the date on which such person’s involvement with the trust ceases to exist.
For the purposes of this section,
“beneficial owner” means a natural person or persons who ultimately own the benefits of an express trust or control the trust property or the person or persons on whose behalf an express trust is being created and includes the person or persons who exercise ultimate effective control over a person or a body of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated.
19B.
Trustee to provide updated information
(a) A trustee and a co-trustee, if any, of an express trust shall provide to any relevant authority, any information in the record maintained under section 19A, in respect of any person referred to in that section whenever such trustee is required to provide such information by such authority.
relevant authorities.
For the purpose of paragraph (a), the
“relevant authority” means –
any public authority assigned with the responsibility of preventing money laundering and suppression of terrorist financing; or
any authority that performs the function of investigating and prosecuting money laundering and terrorist financing associated offences and seizing or freezing and confiscating assets relating to such offences.
of identity to
Penalty for contravention of sections 6A, 19, 19A and 19B.
(a) A trustee of an express trust shall, when entering into a continuing business relationship or conducting any transaction or carrying out any occasional transaction, exceeding a financial limit as may be prescribed, with any institution carrying out financial business or designated non-finance business, provide updated information on the identity of any person referred to in section 19A or of the trust property which is subject to the business relationship, as is required by such institution.
For the purpose of paragraph (a), the expressions “designated non-finance business”, “finance business” and “occasional transaction’’, shall have the same meanings as in the Financial Transactions Reporting
Act, No. 6 of 2006.
19C. A trustee who acts in contravention of the provisions of sections 6A, 19, 19A and 19B shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall, on conviction by a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”.
s 5Amendment of section 72 of the principal enactment
Section 72 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution for the words “by his discharge from his office.”, of the words and figure “by his discharge from his office or on such trustee being convicted of an offence under section 19C.”.
s 6Amendment of section 75 of the principal enactment
Section 75 of the principal enactment is hereby amended, in subsection (1) of that section, by the substitution for the words “or accepts an inconsistent trust,”, of the words and figure “or accepts an inconsistent trust, or is convicted of an offence under section 19C,”.
s 7Insertion of new section 115A in the principal enactment
The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 115 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 115A of that enactment:-
115A. (1) The Minister may make regulations in respect of all matters required by this Act to be prescribed or in respect of which regulations are authorized by this Act to be made.
Every regulation made by the Minister under subsection (1) shall be published in the
Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication or on such later date as may be specified therein.
Every regulation made by the Minister shall, as soon as convenient, be brought before
Parliament for approval. Every regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be rescinded from the date of disapproval but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.
Notification of the date on which any regulation is deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the Gazette.”.
s 8Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail.
“Regulations.